The water release from the Mettur dam for irrigation, originally scheduled for August 12, has been advanced to August 2.
In a statement issued here on Monday, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa stated that inflow to the dam had gone up considerably following Krishnarajasagar and Kabini dams releasing surplus water of 90,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) in the wake of heavy rainfall in the Cauvery catchment on Saturday and Sunday. If the inflow were to continue, the dam would touch full level of 120 ft by August 3.
Considering the present position, the discharge of water was stepped up to 10,000 cusecs from 6,000 cusecs and this came into effect on Monday, the Chief Minister said.
The State government had been releasing 3,000 cusecs to meet drinking water needs and it was enhanced by an equal additional quantity from July 27 for Adi Perukku festival, she added.
Crosses 100 feet mark
Staff Reporter from Salem writes:
The water level in the dam has crossed the 100-feet mark for the 62nd time in its 79-year history.
The last time it touched the mark on November 11, 2011.
PWD officials said the water rose beyond the 100 feet mark at 1.27 a.m. on Monday.
The level now is 100.85 feet, the inflow 88,988 cusecs and the discharge 6,801 cusecs, officials said.
The storage rose by six thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft), from 58.87 tmc ft to 65.94 tmc ft. The water level touched the 16-vent surplus channel of the dam on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the inflow at Biligundlu in Krishnagiri district, the entry point to Tamil Nadu, recorded a decrease of 12,000 cusecs and continued to drop during the day.
Sources in the Central Water Commission told The Hindu that the flow decreased from 85,000 cusecs at 6 p.m. on Sunday to 73,000 cusecs at 8 a.m. on Monday.
